Dorothy Alessandra was born in Galveston, Texas to parents who emigrated from Russia in the late 1800s. In this interview Mrs. Alessandra reminisces about family life and bygone days in Galveston. She also discusses what it was like to be Jewish in...

When he was born in 1881, his father planned to make him a butcher, but Edwin Arnold decided to work in insurance and on the railroad before becoming a well-respected lawyer in Houston. A man of many talents, Arnold also wrote a historical novel,...

Born in Austin in 1898, Mary Jourdan Atkinson was home schooled. At the age of 21, she enrolled in the University of Texas, where she received her Bachelor of Science and MB degree in Education. Atkinson taught at the Texas Southern University as a...

Statesman James Baker III examines his political career. He served as the 10th White House Chief of Staff during President Ronald Regan administration, and the 16th White House Chief of Staff during George H.W. Bush administration. He also served...

Philanthropist and social activist, Jane Blaffer talks about the social life in Houston during the first half of the 20th century. She talks about the philanthropic contributions of her family as well as people like the Cullens, Imma Hogg, James...

Ethel Bocock Bringhurst married into the Bringhurst family, one of the first prominent families in Houston. In the beginning of the interview, Bringhurst remembers living next door to some of the Allen family, and she recalls a Miss Allen telling...

Thelma Scott Bryant, a centenarian from Houston, talks about her life as an African American growing up at the beginning of the 20th century. She describes the black community where she grew up; the churches, schools, theaters and businesses; and...

Daniel Bustamante was born in south Texas and attended the University of Houston where he became politically active with the MAYO (Mexican American Youth Organization) group and the leftist Raza Unida Party in the late 1960s. Throughout the 1970s,...

Luis Cano was born in Corpus Christi and was inspired by his grandfather, Juan Bautista Galaviz, who worked to educate the Mexican American community of Del Rio, Texas, about their history and heritage. In the 1970s, Cano came to Houston and taught...

Mrs. O'Neta "Pink" Cavitt discusses growing up in Houston and serving 29 years as a teacher and librarian in both the Aldine and Houston Independent School Districts. She also was the owner of Neta's Hat Shop and Accessories located in The Pilgrim...

The founder of Texas Heart Institute, Denton Cooley is interviewed by Dr. William H. Kellar. Dr. Cooley has pioneered many techniques used in cardiovascular surgery including the first successful human heart transplant and the first implant of an...

Frank De La Cruz was born in in the Alacran neighborhood of Houston’s Second Ward to parents originally from the Piedras Negras region of Mexico. He attended the Rusk School as a child and later moved with this family to the El Cristol area near...

Mrs. Joan Denkler is a self-proclaimed "activist" for affordable housing in Houston and has been included in many areas as an advocate for affordable housing in the Houston area, especially Fourth Ward and Allen Parkway Village. In her interview...